Almost missing out on the band trip, sophomore Max Holmquist thought the buses were loading at 7:00 am instead of the scheduled one hour earlier.
But, since Clipper band is a team sport, fellow band member Caleb Possin had Holmquist’s back.
“Caleb snap chatted me, and I was like ‘Mom! Get in the car. We gotta go!’”
So Holmquist made it to the school parking lot a few minutes before departure time on Friday morning. Trip chaperone Kyle Atherton helped him stow his suitcase, and, climbing into one of a pair of coaches, Holmquist joined 76 other 9-12th-grade band members on their 524-mile trip to St. Louis.
This year’s band excursion was the second and final one for Harley Connor, one of 20 seniors who went on the trip.
“I am excited. It will be fun. You get to be with your friends and not with your parents.”
Connor said band director Erik Hermanson makes the trip, and the overall band program, enjoyable.
“He encourages everyone to play. Even though band is not cool at other schools, if you don’t play in band, you’re not cool at Cleveland.”
Connor’s classmate Sam Wondra was also excited about the trip. Before she boarded one of the buses, she had already started to document the experience on Snapchat.
“I’m going to post a whole bunch of random stuff. I’m going to make the most of it, make it a good trip.”
The band’s first stop, 8 hours after the buses rolled out of Cleveland, was at the St. Louis Zoo, home to over 16,000 animals, from lions and elephants and apes to frogs and sharks and penguins.
Dinner on Friday night was at the Old Spaghetti Factory, located in downtown St. Louis near the Gateway Arch.
It was rise and shine early Saturday morning for a 6:30 am breakfast and then a departure for the Music in the Parks festival competition at Hardin Middle School in St. Charles.
After the contest, CHS band members headed to Six Flags amusement park.
Connor was really looking forward to the park. One of a dozen or so thrill seekers, she is on ‘Ride Team’ with Atherton.
“We’re going through the park and going on all the roller coasters as a group.”
An awards ceremony was scheduled at Six Flags at 5:00 pm. It was canceled due to the weather, but Cleveland Jazz Bands took the top five spots. Jazz I tied its best ever score of 97. Senior trombone player Amelia Tauer was named the contest's outstanding soloist.
Tomorrow (Sunday), the students will ride 630 feet up to the peak of the Gateway Arch as well as tour the museums in the area. They will head back to Cleveland at noon.
The bands have had a busy spring so far with a jazz competition at the region/state solo and ensemble contest at Gustavus Adolphus College on April 5.
There, of a dozen jazz bands that performed, five were from Cleveland. One earned an “Excellent” rating, and the other four took home “Superior” ratings with the school’s senior-dominated Black Folder Jazz receiving the top jazz band score at the site.
The same five bands went on the St. Louis trip.
Other schools in the competition at GAC were Jordan, St. Peter, Comfrey, New Ulm, TCU, GFW and Sibley East.
Also helping Hermanson chaperone the trip to St. Louis were teachers Brady Hahn and Alissa Gibbs, school nurse Kally Remiger and Hermanson’s wife Kristen Hermanson.
Above, band trip chaperone Kyle Atherton directs students to one of two buses. They include Jersie Kelley, Henry Strobel, Sam Wondra and Allison Cink.
Waiting to board the bus as chaperone Brady Hahn peers inside are Reid Knish, Anna Kawatski-Klein, Vivian Hilfer, Sierra McCabe, Dacota Lotspeich, Melissa Miller, Carter Kern and Samantha Baker.
Band director Erik Hermanson and school nurse Kally Remiger bring out the last loads.
Inside the bus for the upper grade band members.
Max Holmquist was better late than never.